Everett’s Birth Story

And just like that my entire world changed…

Everett is now 11 days old. He was born on April 29th, 2017 at 1:18 pm. He was 8 lbs 1 oz and 21 inches long. The first time I held him was easily the most amazing moment of my life. He came into this world a healthy little boy- so alert and happy. The labor and delivery went smoothly and the entire experience was so calm. I have to admit that I did not expect this- but I wouldn’t change a thing. It was a perfect experience and I’m grateful that everything happened the way it did.

Here is Everett’s birth story:

I woke up on Friday April 28th not expecting to go into labor. By this point I was over 41 weeks pregnant and I was just assuming that my little boy would stubbornly stay put until our scheduled induction on Sunday April 30th. I went to the bathroom and noticed that I lost my mucus plug. I felt a little crampy but didn’t think anything of it. I asked Aaron if he would be interested in going for along walk just in case this was the start of labor and he happily agreed to go with me. We went on our usual walk that we take with the dog (it’s about 2 miles long and winds through a couple of different neighborhoods). It was a nice morning- the sun was out and it was pretty warm.

The cramps continued throughout the morning and around 11 am I decided that it might be a good idea to let my family know that this could be the day. I called my mom, who started driving out to us right away and decided to hold off just a bit longer before letting my dad and the Johnson’s know what was going on. I wasn’t feeling my best but wasn’t ready to sit still just yet so I asked Aaron if he would be interested in going to the zoo for the afternoon. We got ready, stopped at Whole Foods for lunch and then made our way to the zoo. We went and saw the polar bears (there were new super cute cubs that arrived the previous week) and then made our way to the safari exhibit. About half way through the safari I had to sit down on a bench because I had a painful contraction. I got a little teary-eyed from the pain and Aaron quickly made the decision that it was time to go home. On the way home we stopped for gas and a bubble tea. I called my Dad and let him know that it might be a good idea to leave and we let the Johnson’s (who were already in town) know to keep an eye on their phone.

Aaron and I watched an episode of Breaking Bad and timed my contractions. They were 5 minutes apart but since my water didn’t break I wasn’t feeling pressured to call the doctor or go to hospital. Once our episode was over I decided that I wanted to take a hot shower (it was about 5:30 pm). Aaron went to walk to dog and I took my shower. After the shower I was feeling pretty worn out- I decided to take a minute and bounce on my birthing ball to calm down. I bounced for less than a minute when my water broke. I couldn’t believe it! I tried to text Aaron but he was not paying attention to his phone. I then decided to call him and may have said some not so friendly words about him not being home 😉 He sprinted home with Pepper and we decided it was time to head to the hospital. Aaron called my mom and dad to let them know to head right to the hospital and he gave his parents the heads up that my water broke.

By 7:30 pm we were checked into the hospital and in our labor and delivery room. I was 2 cm when we checked in. The contractions were getting pretty intense and it took me about two hours to decide to get an epidural. At about 9:30 pm they gave the epidural and from then on the labor was completely calm. I felt a tiny bit of pain but for the most part was very relaxed. I quickly went from 2 to 4 cm, especially once they started a low flow pitocin drip. I took lots of naps throughout the night and late in the night they checked me again- I was 8 cm.

The next morning things started to slow down a bit and I remained at 8 cm for most of the morning. I learned that the night shift turned off the pitocin because they thought my body was naturally doing a lot of the work. The day shift nurse started around 7 am (her name was Heidi). Heidi was an amazing nurse (look at the pics below- we took a picture with her). She took charge and decided it was time to get things moving. She turned back on the pitocin and started to check me more often. At this point in time I started to feel some pressure but nothing that was too painful. Around 12:30 pm Heidi checked me- she told me I was 10 cm and it was time to start pushing.

With Aaron by my side I pushed for only 10 minutes before it was time to get the doctor. Heidi paged the doctors and we invited both my mom and Aaron’s mom into the room to watch their grandson be born. We had to wait for a little because the doctor was delivering another baby at the same time we needed him. Once the doctor showed up I pushed for about 5 more minutes. And then I heard it- I heard Evi cry. It was the most amazing sound. They immediately put him on my chest and for the first time I held my baby. Aaron, who was so encouraging and strong during the delivery, cut the cord and just like that we became parents. The next couple of hours were busy. We continued skin to skin contact and tried out breast feeding for the first time. It felt so natural and Evi seemed to have no problems learning what to do. Aaron held his son for the first time and then eventually we invited the grandparents in to meet their grandson. Once everything calmed down a bit they moved us to the recovery room. The grandparents came back later that night to hold Evi again and Aaron and I spent the night learning how to comfort our new baby boy.

We checked out of the hospital the next day around 5 pm. Aaron said the drive home was very stressful- I can imagine it would be with a newborn in the backseat! The Johnson’s left to drive back to Washington and my family stayed with us for the next week to spend some time with the newest member of our family. By the fourth day home we had Evi sleeping through most of the night. He went to the pediatrician for his first check up and lost a little weight (he weighed 7 lbs 5 oz). The doctor said this normal and to keep feeding him and come back to check his weight. When we went back he was 7 lbs 7 oz and the doctor was very happy with this. We made his next appointment for June 7th since everything went so well.

Everett is so much fun!! He’s a very calm and happy baby. He loves to be held and loves when Aaron sings to him. He’s very expressive and seems to be very curious about everything around him. He focuses very well, especially for being so young. For the most part he just hangs out- very content. If he’s hungry he let’s us know. He sleeps through the night already- I know this is very lucky! and I also know this probably won’t stay this way but for now I’ll take it. I have to wake him up a couple of times so that he continues to eat- do you believe it?!? I have to wake him up, not the other way around! 😉

I have a bunch of pictures from our first moments with our little man but I wanted to take a minute and just say how grateful I am. I’m grateful for a healthy pregnancy and smooth labor and delivery. I’m grateful that we were able to get pregnant in the first place. Not a day goes by that I don’t appreciate how lucky we are. Creating life is a gift. A gift that not everyone can experience- I am one of the lucky ones and for that I will always be thankful ❤

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ABOUT ME

Hi! My name is Kristyn. I am 33 years old and happily married to the man of my dreams. I am the proud mama of a precious little boy, one cute pup and three adorable kitties. I'm generally a very chipper, happy person and enjoy every aspect of the little life I have built for myself. I started this blog in hopes of capturing all the excitement so that my future family can look back and enjoy the memories we have made. It's been a fun project, hope you enjoy it!